It may come as a surprise that too much exercise could be harmful to your body. Although many experts recommend moderate exercise every day, it’s important not to overdo it, or you can cause severe damage to your body both physically and mentally. It can be hard for some who find exercise to be an outlet from stress and the hustle and bustle of their daily lives or who are preparing for a strenuous and long race.
It’s important to take time to understand the symptoms of over-exercising and a few of the best ways to avoid it from happening, so you don’t hurt yourself.
Symptoms of Over Exercising
If you are overdoing it and working out too often, chances are, you’ll experience some common symptoms. It’s important to take the time to listen to your body and be willing to make a change to prevent yourself from getting sick.
- Overly sore or painful muscles
- Feeling tired even after a good night’s sleep
- Longer rest times needed in between workouts
- Overuse injuries
- Losing weight (more than a healthy amount)
- Anxious feelings
- Getting sick more often
If you are experiencing multiple of these symptoms and have worked out more than usual, cut down to working out 2-3 times a week or take a break for a few days to let your body rest. Take additional time to stretch each day and allow your muscles to recoup to avoid any injuries. The last thing you want to do is continue pushing yourself too hard once you realize what’s happening.
How to Prevent Over Exercising
There a few key ways to help ensure that you protect yourself from over exercising. They are all super simple to implement and will help you feel your best without having to work too hard in the process. It’s important to not ignore what your body is telling you or if you’re feeling symptoms of over-exercising. The last thing you want to do is cause long-lasting damage to your body that cannot be fixed.
Find the Right Types of Workouts
It’s no surprise that every person is different, and so is their workout routine. For the best results, take the time to find the right exercise machine that will help you feel great while avoiding overuse. The best part is nowadays you have so many opinions on how you work out and where you get your equipment. You can sign up for a gym, do your own workouts at home with Bowflex equipment that you purchase or use simple workout videos and weights if it’s too much to use lots of workout machines.
Make an Exercise Plan
Another great way to ensure that you don’t overdo it with exercise is to create a game plan before your workouts have a written plan of what you are going to do for exercise that day and make sure that you spread out the muscles and parts of your body that you exercise to avoid overuse or injury.
If you’re not sure where to start, you can always reach out to a personal trainer, resources online, or talk to family and friends who have experience in the area. It’s always helpful to have a second person around to advise you to make sure that you do a workout the right way so you can avoid doing too much of one type of exercise. With so many resources, you’ll be able to do this affordably and save yourself time and a headache from doing it all on your own.
Listen to Your Body
If you notice your body isn’t functioning correctly, you need to take the time to listen. Chances are if you’re working out a lot and experiencing any of the symptoms we talked about earlier, you very well may be over-exercising. Don’t take the subject lightly. Instead, reevaluate your routine and see where you can cut back long term. There are plenty of types of exercise that you can incorporate that will help you burn calories quickly while working out less. This may be a good time to find a few that you like so you can take a step back and like your body recovery.
If you’re training for a marathon, triathlon, or other race, it’s essential that you take time to consult a professional to make sure that you’re getting enough rest, eating the right foods, and recovering correctly, so you don’t overdo it.
Stretch After Each Workout
One of the most important things you can do before and after any exercise is to take time to stretch properly. It can seem like a waste of time, but it’s actually really important if you want to avoid any injuries or overuse of your muscles. They need to tense up during a workout, so it’s important to give them time to relax and release any tension caused by your workout. It only takes 5 minutes before and after your workout for a proper stretch. You just want to help give yourself some recovery time before you go about the rest of your day and make sure that you don’t damage your body.
Put Your Well Being First
You only have one body, so it’s crucial that you take care of it so you can live a long and healthy life. The most important thing you can do is to take the time to listen to your body and how you’re feeling day to day. If you have a long or intense workout planned, but your body is feeling sore or your feeling overly tired, you’ll want to consider doing something less strenuous that day, so you don’t hurt yourself or overdo it. One or two rest days won’t affect all the hard work and progress that you’ve made and will, in fact, be beneficial, so it’s a win-win situation.
About the author
Chris Jordan is a health and fitness influencer whose mission is to educate people on how to exercise and eat healthy the right way so they can live long and healthy lives. He travels the country to work with brands, clients, and gyms to educate people on the best ways to recover in between workouts. He frequently contributes to a fitness blog where he shares all his best tips and tricks on how to exercise properly and the best foods to eat to stay in great shape. He is a firm believer in making sure that clients take care of their bodies now in order to live a long and healthy life for many years to come.